Today in Luxembourg, the EPSCO Council has adopted conclusions on the impact of the economic crisis and health services. Before coming to an end, the Greek EU Presidency wanted to highlight the citizens’ right of human health protection and the value of health in itself as prerequisites to economic growth and social cohesion. That responds to stakeholders’ voices that anticipated key consequences of the crisis since its onset.
The Council Conclusions recognise the value of investing in health promotion, disease prevention, the need to reduce pharmaceutical expenditure and the importance of resilient integrated models of care supported by eHealth solutions. Furthermore, the impact of the crisis and the budgetary constraints are emphasised with high concern, as it is argued that extensive cuts in the supply of healthcare can affect access to care and have long-term health and economic consequences.
Therefore, the Council proposes, among others actions, to improve the effective use of European Structural and Investment Funds and other Union’s Financial Instruments for health investments. Moreover, it aims for strengthened cooperation to learn from the most sustainable health systems and highlights the need to ensure a sustainable health workforce with the necessary skills to guarantee patient safety and quality of care.
The full text can be found here
More information: EFN Report “Caring in crisis: the impact of the financial crisis on nurses and nursing”.